Street-sweeping machine.



w. T. BLANEY. swam SWEEPING MACHIINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG-2m 915. 1,209,384. Patented Dec. 19,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

- WITNESSES:

' INVENTOR iVil/z'am ZZBZanc -y w. T. BLANEY;

STREET'SWEEPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 20. 1915.

1,209,384. Patented Dec.19,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

43 1 l4 4l- 27 I J 17 my/WM mllzam 251472. 1

A TTOB/VEV W.' T. BLANEY STREET SWEEPING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG.20, 19l5.

1,209,381 7 I Patented De0.19,1916.

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ATTORNEY srarss ares carton.

WILLIAM 'r. BLANEY. or WINDSOR, QNTARiO, CANADA.

STREET-SWEEPING MACHINE.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed August 20, 1915. -Seria1No. 46,430.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM T. BLANJEY,

a subject of the King of Great Britain, re-

,the following to be a full,'clea1', and exact description of the invention. such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to street sweeping machines of the motor-driven vehicle type,.

and consists in the novel features of con: struction and operation as hereinafter set forth and claimed.

The principal object of the invention is the. provision of an eificient power driven tractor-drawn street sweeping machine. wherein a single rotary brush is employed as the sweeping means. and which is so sup io ted within the machine and connected in driving engagement with power transmitting means positioned upon one side thereof (preferably the left-hand side of the vehicle) as to leave theopposite side free from obstructing projections and permit the-working of the end of the brush in close proximity. to the curb of the roadway to enable the removal of the dirt from the gutter without necessitatin; the employment of an auxiliary or gutter brush.

Further objects are sought through the provision of means for wiping the brush to insure the discharge of the dirt therefrom onto a conveyer by which it is elevated and stored within the body of the machine; of means for inducing an air draft by suction to prevent the spreading and escape. of dust produced by the action of the brush. andfor drawing it into the housing of the machine, and of means through which the dust laden air may be circulated to extract and collect the dust therefrom andrelease the filtered air to the atmosphere.

The above objects are attained by the employment of the construction and association of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which, 1

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the convpleted machine embodying my improved features coupled to a front wheel driven tractor by which it is drawn, showing the right hand or curbside of the machine, and indi-' cating by dotted lines the power transmission to the operative parts. Fig. 2 ls'a sec- Patented Dec. to. tote.

tional side elevation of the body of the mafl chine having the lower half of the side broken away to show the interior arrangement of theparts. Fig. 3 is a transverse horizontal sectional view through the body of the machine on irregular dashed line 3-43 of Fig. .2. Fig. i is a front end sectional elevation having the lower portion of the end wall and inner vertical partition broken away to show the arrangementof'the motive power and driving connections. Fig. dis a rear end elevation of the machine.

Referring'to the parts of the device by the 2 characters of reference indicating the parts throughout the several views of the draw ings. l designates 'a' rectangular body or' housing containing the operative parts of themachine. which is carried on a frame 2 supported at the rear end upon springs 3 mountcd on an axle -1- having transporting wheels 5 thereon. and is connected to and supported at its forward end upon a selfcontained power driven tractor 6 having combined driving and steering wheels 7 by which the machine is drawn and its course is directed. as shown in Fig. 1.

The forward lower .portion of the housing 1 is extended downwardly to a point in close proximity to the road surface, and the bottom of this portion is provided with an inletopcning in which a rotary sweeping brush 5 ismounted to operate betwcen'the side walls of said housing. A vertical partition 9 extending from the forward edge of this opening forms in conjunction with a horizontal partition 10 within the housing a main compartment or chamber 11 and a for- The opposiieend it 15 extends throngh the housing and carries a from which. a chain nelt :Jer spro'het wheel 23 on the 2- oi: the rotary brush. 8, by .i h ifill rotated at the desired in row i directien' to its forward cc of the roadway.

= i opposite ends slide i 'ertiwhich the moin ti -shaped lower edges ot and which per i in maintainie uneven surante provision is shown herein y hich the .m, raised and retained (i ie o1 cen i i i l 1 l caret the red, as common into the lower end 1. com ,7 hauling iron]. 1:

i 'r a sprocket i eel Elli on a ountershzift ionr -a ed through the side wall in 21 hearing 88 and carries end a gear wheel 89 meshing I 0 on the engine shaft as ly this arrangel to the convwer he lower lead oi its \ardly, and located h l 3 an. inclined ii width.

ed OULWR" chamber 11 21 t. its upper rwerd y and upwardly end coi'iceir c with the shaft and terminates in 7 p 42 adjacent the brush in ilet openiig oi": the housing. r spun red edge oi? this table forms .ilre receptacle for the dirt delii ush and contacts throughice i ith the blades or eyer h which the dirt is end oil the shatt end I on outeeeeee elevated and discharged rearwerdiy into the chamber 11. (See Fig. 2.)

To facilitate the gathering of the dirt by the brush and to control the discl'iarge there from so as to cause the bristles of the brush to expel the dirt and direct its delivery into the trough of the table of the coin'cyer, an np-cinived sheet metal hood 43 is mounted over the upper forward portion of the brush in spaced relation thereto and is secured at end walls it to ears 4% onthe corre sponding hearing boxes 27 at opposite ends of said brush by which it is supported to more vertically therewith. ll; flexible apron 45 is attached to the lower forward edge of the hood 13 and trails upon the rozu surface in advance of and at an incline-to the brush, serving as a guard to deflect the dust upwardly into the hood in the direction of rotation of said brush, and hinged at one edge to the upper torward edge of the hood and engaging at its free edge with the periphery of the brush is a wiping strip 46 which is yieldahly held in contact therewith by curved leaf-springs i7 secured at one end to the hood and hearing at their free ends upon the upper face of said strip in e dvsnce Figs. 2 and 3, whereby the dirt aised by the brush will be c: rried upwardly within the hood are encounter and pass the forward edge of the wiping strip they will he successively retarded and abruptly released in :1 manner to impel the dirt carried thereby tan grentially from the orus and deposit itupon the table and into the trough of the conrey-er hy which it will be elevated and dumped into the rear of the chamber 11. An opening having: a hinged closure 48111 the rear endwvall of the housing afiords means through which the accumulation of dirt may be discharged. 7 I

As a, means for preventing the spreading and escape of the dust raised by the motion of the brush and to insure the gathering of the lighter particles that may he released by e bristles on the down travel side oi the brush to prevent their deposit on the road surface, a suction conduit 4:9 is formed between the under tace or the table 41 and an outer wall 59 which extends the full "width ot the housing, coiitorming to the under race of said table and having an of its hinged edge, as shown in as the bristles of the brush inlet throat or opening in the lower end I thereof in line with the lower end of said table, Th lower end of the wall 50 is provided with a hinged shield or apron 51 which depends to close proximity with the road surface, and the upper end of the well extends into the chamber 11 and is returned upon the under face of said table and closes the upper end of said conduit,

tendency induced in the conduit l and A vacuum also in the chamber 11 by suction through a horizontal conduit 52 which is disposed exterior-1y of the housing and communicates through the side wall thereof at one end with said suction conduit and with said chamber through a lateral inlet port 53 and at its opposite end with the intake side. of the exhaust fan 20, by means of which an air draft is created through the throat of said conduit and through said inlet port to draw the dust from the road surface and opening around the brush and from the chamber above the brush into the fan. The dust is then conducted through a vertical conduit 54- conununicating at its lower end with the discharge. outlet of the fan and at its upper end with a horizontal conduit which comnmnicates with a receiving chamber above the horizontal partition 10 of the housing, wherein it is distributed and circulated through separating and collecting -means by which the dust is extracted and accumulated and the clarified air is discharged into the atmosphere.

The dust separating and collecting means above referred to and indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, comprises the subject matter of a separate application for patent filed herewith and need not be herein described in detail. as it forms no part of the present invention. Any other suitable dust separating means may be employed in connection with the sweeping and suction lnducimg means. the arrangement and association of which constitute the principal features of this invention.

From the foregoing description the operation of the machine will be readily understood. it is thought. without further stating its action in detail. other than to point out that by reason of the relation. arrangement and cooperation of the brush. conveyer and suction throat the machine is rendered so etlicicnt for dry sweeping as to insure the removal of both dirt and dust in a manner to leave the road surface comparatively clean and the air free from dust after the passage of this machine. I

\Vbile l have shown and described a preferred form of construction. the invention is presented as including all such changes or modifications as come, within the scope, and meaning of the follmving claims.

I claim:

1. In a street sweeper, a vehicle frame, a. housing mounted on said frame and having a storage chamber provided with an inlet opening, a. rotary brush in said opening journaled in bearings mounted to move up and down inthe are of a' circle in the sides of said housing, a hood carried by said bvarings and overlying the upper for- -ward portion of said brush, a Wiping strip hingedly connected to the'forward edge of said hood and yieldably engagingthe periphery of said brush. and an inclined table having its lower end adjacent said brush and adapted to receive the sweepings discharged therefrom.

2. In a street sweeper, a vehicle frame, a housing mounted on said frame and having a storage chamber provided with an inlet opening. a rotary brush in said opening jourualed in bearings mounted to move up and down in the arc of a circle in the sides of said housing. a hood carried by said bearings and overlying the upper forward portion of said brush, an upwardly inclined table having an upturned trough at its lower end adjacent said. brush and adapted to receive the sweepings therefrom, and a conveyer mounted above said table and adapted to convey the sweepings from said trough into said storage chamber.

2-)..111 a street sweeper, a vehicle frame, a housing mounted on. said frame and having an inlet opening therein, a rotary sweeping brush mounted in said opening, an inclined table mounted in said opening and forming at its lower end an rip-turned trough adj acent said brush to receive the sweepings discharged thereby, a suction conduit formed in conjunction with the under face of said table and-having an inlet throat beneath said trough to receive the dust raised by said brush, a conveyer mounted above said table and associated with said trough for conveying the sweepings therefrom, means for operating-said brush and conveyer, and means for inducing suction in said conduit to draw the dust from about said trough.

at. In a street sweeper, a vehicle frame, a housing mounted on saidframe and Having a storage chamber provided with an inlet opening, 'a' sweeping brush mounted to rotate in said opening, an inclined table mounted in said opening to extend into said storage chamber and forming at its lower end an up-turned trough adjacent said brush to receive the sweepings discharged therefrom, a suction conduit formed on the under face ofsaid table and having an inlet throat conforming with said trough and opening at the edge thereof adjacent said brush to receive the dust raised thereby, means for directing the delivery of the sweepings 'from said brush toward said trough and throat, means for conveying the sweepings from said trough into said storage chamber, and means for inducing suction in said throat to draw the dust from about said trough and brush.

5. In a. street sweeper, a vehicle frame, a housing" mounted on said frame and having a storage chamber provided with an inlet opening, a rotary sweeping brush mounted in said opening, an inclined table formed to, provide an upturned trough at its lower end adjacent said brush to receive the swoepings discharged therefrom, a suction conduit extending across the under face of said table and having an inlet throat conforming with said trough and opening at the lower edge thereof adjacent said brush to receive the dust raised thereby, a connecting conduit connnunicating with said suction conduit and having an inlet port comniunicating with said storage 'cnamloei' above said-brush, means for conveying the sweepings from said trough into said storage chamber, and means for inducing suction in said conduits to draw the dust from about said brush. i

In testii'nohy whereof, I sign this specification.

WILLIAM T. BLANEY. 

